Welcome to the Norfolk Island Museum's blog. We are lucky to be located in the most beautiful part of a stunning island in the South Pacific. We are a little island, but our history and stories are great - from Polynesian and convict settlements to the home of the Bounty mutineers. Hopefully you'll enjoy our stories.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Over the last few weeks a number of school groups
have been in and out of the museum and we have also met with Prof. Peter Muhlhausler
on a recent trip, following up on Norf’k language projects. Peter is Professor
of Linguistics at Adelaide University and was largely responsible for
supporting the initial training of Norf’k language teachers at NICS.

At the prize giving at the school this
week, Principal Michelle Nicholson quoted from a report to the NSW Minister for
Public Instruction by the first school inspector to visit the island in 1897.
He said “The inhabitants of the island, without exception…exhibit considerable
interest in the education of their children and cause them to attend school
most regularly and punctually”. Michelle remarked on the fact that the
education of our children continues to be highly valued on Norfolk.

This began on Pitcairn Island, most
probably with John Adam’s conversion and teaching of the children to read using
the Bounty Bible and Book of Common
Prayer. Brian Mercer records in “An Island Education, A history of the Norfolk
Island Central School” that from 1835 all children were compelled to go to
school, many attending from the age of six until they were married. He says “In
N.S.W. by contrast, it was not until 1880 that the Public Instruction Act made
it law for parents to send their children aged 6-14 to school. But even then,
children were only required to attend about three days per week. Not until 1916
were pupils in N.S.W. compelled to attend every day”.

On arrival at Norfolk Island on 8 June 1856
one of the first decisions the community made was about founding a school. The
first classroom was set up in the New Military Barracks and classes began just
six week later on the 14th of July. Attendance of all children was
compulsory. Norfolk Island should stand proud of the fact that with the
introduction of legislation in 1857, we were the first in the British Empire to
legislate compulsory school attendance.

Clear evidence of the continued value of
participation in school life and education on island today, is through the
annual awarding of the Queen Victoria Scholarship. Begun in 1887 as a memorial
for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee the committee deciding on how the island
would commemorate this important event said: On 20th June Her
Majesty, Queen Victoria, will have reigned for fifty years. The event will be
commemorated throughout the British Empire. Norfolk Island must not be
behind…it (is) highly desirable that a permanent memorial of the happy event
should be established on the island. After due consideration and a careful
weighing of such suggestions as were brought forward, it was finally decided
that this memorial should take the form of an Endowment of (for the present
three) Queen Victoria Scholarships in the Norfolk Island Public School. These
scholarships are to be obtained by competitive examination”.

In the first year the scholarships were £2
each for the senior winners and £1 for the junior winners. These days the
scholarship is still competed for and represents an honour rather than monetary
reward. The original Scholarship Board naming all winners between 1887 and 1971
is on display in the Pier Store, the current one being at the school itself.

As we were reminded during Peter
Muhlhausler’s visit, the teaching of Norf’k language at the school today is
cause for celebration, especially given early efforts to eradicate its use by
NSW authorities. This began after 1896 when the executive government of Norfolk
was changed from a locally appointed head of government, to a NSW appointed
Chief Magistrate.One of the first acts
of the first Chief Magistrate, Colonel Spalding, was to arrange for the 1897 inspection
of the school. As well as the positive comment about parental interest in
education made in the Report as quoted by Michelle, a key recommendation was
that a trained teacher be sent from Sydney to take up the position of
Headmaster. However, it was not until 1906 that the first ‘outside’ appointed
principal arrived on the island (beginning the system of short-term three to
five year appointments which continues to today).

With non-Norfolk Islanders now in charge of
the school, it was not long before a concerted effort was made to eradicate the
use of the Norfolk language by children when at school. This was initiated in
1915 with a new school rule banning anything but the ‘King’s English’ being
spoken during school hours. Infringements would be dealt with by a caning or
writing out lines to the effect of “I must not talk gibberish at school”.

This policy followed from a 1914 Memorandum
relating to Norfolk Island written by Atlee Hunt, Secretary of the
Commonwealth’s Department of External Affairs. In a section headed “The Local
Jargon” Hunt wrote:

“It
is not picturesque nor effective, and justifies its description as “a barbarous
attempt to garrotte the English language”. Its use contributes to maintain a
spirit of exclusiveness amongst these folk, and for this reason, as well as
because it has no merits to justify its continual existence, it is hoped that
its employment may be discouraged in every way”.

The first headmaster to introduce the rule
predicted “I feel confident that it is
only a matter of a few generations when the island “jargon” will disappear
altogether”. After WWII the policy
was not policed as rigorously and in 1987 the policy was reversed, with Norf’k
language being included in the school curriculum.

The Norfolk Island Language (Norf’k) Act
2004 allows the teaching of Norf’k at school and affirmed “the right of people
to speak and write it freely and without interference or prejudice from
Government or other persons”. Norf’k language has been taught as a Secondary
School, NSW Board of Studies endorsed elective from 2001. It is now taught to
all students from Kindergarten to Year 9.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Norfolk Island Museum Trust recently purchased a convict made chest of
drawers that had been locally put up for tender. Made of Norfolk Island Pine it
is stamped BO ↑ CD. The BO is for the Board of Ordnance and CD Commissariat
Department. The broad arrow was used as an identification of British government
property. As the museum is located in the basement of the Commissariat - it has
made its way ‘home’ to the building it would have been issued from!

The
Museum Trust were able to make this purchase as a result of accumulated profits
from the Trial of the Fifteen play and the arrangement made by the late Peter
Clarke, the author of the play, on how they could be expended. Peter’s son Stephen
now holds the rights to the play and each year he agrees with the Trust on a
program of expenditure. This year that included the purchase of acquisitions
for the museum collection. It is so gratifying to see such a direct link
between the efforts of the Museum to Produce, our Actors to perform, visitors purchasing
tickets each week - and our collection.

Its
purchase complements a few other pieces of furniture that also show similar
markings including two convict settles or bench seats.Most likely these were made for the verandahs
of the houses and buildings for the Officers.One of the settles has graffiti on it from an officer of the 99th
Regiment stationed here during the 2nd Settlement.The other piece is a cedar table that is
actually part of a sectional table and may date from as early as 1825. While we
don’t know the date that the chest of drawers was made, we will be researching
its design to see if we can identify the most likely period.

Broad arrows are on many of the items in the museum collection. Being found
in possession of marked objects without good cause was a serious offence. The
symbol has been documented back to the 16th century to mark Royal property, and
was occasionally referred to as a ‘Royal cipher’. An 1806 proclamation stated
that:

“The Board having been pleased to
direct that in future all descriptions of Ordnance Stores should be marked with
the broad arrow as soon as they shall have been received as fit for His
Majesty’s Service; all Storekeepers and Deputy Storekeepers and others are
desired to cause this order to be accordingly attended to, in the Department
under their direction, reporting to the Board in all cases when articles are
received to which this mark cannot be applied”. [28th July 1806. Quoted
from the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps website]

As a result the broad-arrow mark appears on everything from furniture to
cooking pots and cutlery, packing crates and barrels, construction materials
from timber to bricks and tools – and convict clothing. However an object that
has a broad arrow on it doesn’t necessarily mean it has an association with
convicts.

Monday, June 23, 2014

The Norfolk Island Museum Trust has recently purchased
additional shelving and a filing cabinet to properly house the books and files
donated to the Museum by Paul Bowes from the Estate of the late Les Brown.Undertaking the task of re-housing this
collection again reinforces the value and interest of this material. One item is a Memorandum written by Bishop
John Coleridge Patteson, the first Missionary Bishop of Norfolk Island. Dated 11th January, 1871 it is on the “South Sea Island Labour Traffic” and was presented to both
Houses of the General Assembly in Wellington NZ in 1871.

Bishop Patteson was a strong advocate against
‘blackbirding’ throughout the South
Pacific Islands
and ironically it was this atrocious activity that led to his violent death in 1871.

In the Memorandum he expresses his concern with the means of ‘procuring
the labour force’ from northern New
Hebrides (Vanuatu), Banks
and Solomon Islands to work on
the cotton and sugar plantations in Queensland
and Fiji.This procurement of labour is otherwise
referred to as ‘blackbirding’.Bishop Patteson states, “No regulations can
prevent men bound by no religious or moral restraint, practicing deception and violence
to entice or convey the natives on board, detaining them forcibly while on
board.”

Blackbirding was especially prevalent between 1847 and
1904.The Queensland

Government first attempted to control it in 1868 with the Polynesian Labourers Act. This
regulation provided for the treatment of labourers — who theoretically worked of
their own free will for a specified period — and the licensing of “recruiters.” However the
Queensland government lacked constitutional power outside its own borders which
made the regulations impossible to enforce.

If it was assumed that the Government of Qld and H.M. Consul
at Levuka, Fiji did all in their power to safe
guard labour ‘traffic’ from abuse and provide some security to the islanders
whilst working on the plantations.Bishop
Patteson states that they do not and cannot protect the so-called labourers
from these lawless men. These lawless men were the masters and crew of the
transport vessels, there was no way to protect the recruited labourers whilst
on board.

It was impossible for any of the islanders to make a bona fide contract as the traders could
not speak more than half a dozen words in any one of the dialects of these
people. For example, ten people of Mota Island
entered into one such contract with a trader holding up 3 fingers, this
signified either 3 suns or 3 moons to the islanders where in fact in meant 3
years to the trader.The three years had
passed and these men were still absent from their home.

The traders or recruiters supported the system of so-called
emigration.This system degenerated into
a practice approaching a slave trade, or perhaps amounted to it.It was a mockery to speak of it as a system
of emigration.

While there was the suggestion of a benefit to bringing the
islanders into contact with ‘civilisation’, indeed what type of civilisation did
they make contact with on the plantations?This was difficult to ascertain as most were not returned to their
homes.Of the 400 or 500 Banks Islanders
taken away only a tenth of that number were returned and the Bishop stated, “of
these no exhibit benefit, but noticeably bearing bad character amongst their
own people”.

The Bishop received reports of the “nefarious nature of many
of the transactions, undoubtedly in a number of instances being nothing less
than kidnapping.”One person writes to
Patteson stating he knows the names of 4 vessels carrying on this ‘rough
work’“these men have no scruples of
conscience, and, so long as they make money, are perfectly dead to any code of
laws, human or divine.This is told in
confidence from a friend for the Bishop’s own protection when amongst the Islands.

Patteson reported that in former years the natives would
come off shore to the boats, bringing articles of trade. They trusted the white
people and the white people trusted them. The missionaries and other seafarers
used to transport the island people from one island to another and they would
receive hogs and other articles in return.This activity however was now to
the slavers advantage.The natives were
easily enticed below deck, the hatches put on, and the vessel was off with the
unsuspecting human cargo.

Patteson chillingly surmises that should any ship be wrecked
on these islands the lives of those on board would probably be taken for those lives
that have been stolen and the natives would be condemned and called
bloodthirsty.This is not right in the
mind of Patteson, however he declares that any civilised people would do the
same in their situation.

Patteson had spent many years travelling throughout the
islands and developed an intimate and trusting relationship with the islanders.
Now the traders were using the name of ‘Patteson’ and the mission ship ‘Southern Cross’ to decoy natives from the
islands.The evil effects of trafficing
having damaged relationships meant the white people were now obliged to be
cautious.He asserts that some of the Melanesian scholars
from the mission on Norfolk Island had
returned to the islands and tried to dissuade their people from going on these blackbirding
vessels

Bishop Patteson's study on Norfolk Island

Bishop Patteson concludes by exclaiming the desire to “protest
by anticipation against any punishment being inflicted upon natives of these Islands who may cut off vessels or kill boat’s crews,
until it is clearly shown that these acts are not done in the way of
retribution for outrages first committed by white men”.Reports of killings of boat crews had been
received, “it is the white mans fault, and it is unjust to punish the coloured
man for doing what may be naturally expected”.

Patteson said people spoke and wrote about the treachery of
these Islanders but he had experienced no kind of behaviour during his fourteen
years of intercourse with them, if they are treated kindly they will
reciprocate kindly.

Bishop Patteson
sailed to the islands on the Southern Cross in April 1871. On the
morning of the 20th of September he landed alone on Nukapu near Santa Cruz where he had
called at every year and would give the Chiefs and people presents. That
afternoon his body was retrieved from a floating canoe by the crew of the Southern Cross; Patteson had been clubbed
to death.Captain Jacobs of the Southern Cross records with certainty
that some vessel had been there ill-using the natives just previous to their
arrival, or they would never have killed the Bishop.Patteson was buried at sea the next morning. The Southern
Cross arrived back at Norfolk Island with
her flag half-mast bearing the news of Patteson’s death.The HMS Rosario
under the command of Captain Markham touched at Norfolk
Island soon after and decided to sail to Nukapu to investigate the
situation.The missionaries on Norfolk made a plea for no
attempt to punish the islanders and the Captain agreed.However when the Rosario
appeared off Nukapu the natives naturally assumed that she had come to avenge
Patteson’s murder.The natives set off
an assault of arrows and a sergeant of marines was killed, the crew responded
with guns resulting in a number of natives being shot. This unfortunate sequel to Patteson’s death
was the absolute reverse of what he would have wished.

The death of Patteson made
a huge impact in England, Australia and New Zealand,
attention and focus was targeted towards the cessation of blackbirding which
amounted to slavery, kidnapping and murder.The Under-Secretary for the Colonies, moved the first reading of the
Pacific Islanders Protection Bill in 1872, this became known as the Kidnapping
Act but was doomed to be ineffective as it only applied to British subjects and
ships.Fiji was annexed in 1874 and a new
Pacific Islanders Protection Act was passed in 1875, however this was still
limited in preventing the incidence of blackbirding.Queensland had a demand for labour and the
practice continued until the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901,
that year the Commonwealth Pacific Islands’ Labourers Act was passed and a
provision made for the cessation of the labour trade and deportation, with
certain exceptions, of all “Kanakas” (as they were colloquially called) still
in Australia after the end of 1906.

Ref:Memorandum by Bishop Patteson on the South Sea
Labour Traffic, Missionary Bishop, Norfolk Island,
11th January, 1871.Presented
to both Houses of the General Assembly, by Command of His Excellency, Wellington 1871.

Martyr of the Islands – The
Life and Death of John Coleridge Patteson, Sir John Gutch